Kindergarten
We are excited to be a part of your first year at West Wing School! We will be learning so much together. We will focus on building our literacy skills so we can become great readers and writers. We will also explore many math concepts including: counting to 100, writing numbers, addition and subtraction within 20, measuring, shapes and place value. It will be an amazing year of learning!
Grade Level Information
Schedule
Curriculum
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Curriculum Overview
Curriculum in all of the kindergarten classrooms follows the Deer Valley Curriculum Guides & Common Core State Standards. While our kindergarten team enjoys working and planning together, naturally, each teacher will do what reflects the individual needs and personalities of the students in the class. We will have a great year conquering new challenges together.
Reading
Children read when they are ready to read whether it be when they are 4,5 or 6. All of these ages are in the norm. Your child will be involved in a variety of reading experiences, including whole-group, small group, shared and guided reading. These reading groups will help us provide a more individualized instruction to help meet the needs of all children. Small Reading Groups will meet 5 days a week in a Literacy Center format for 60 minutes. Whole group instruction will be teacher directed for 30 minutes each day. Students are grouped and regrouped according to their own instructional needs. In kindergarten we will teach letter recognition, letter sounds and letter formation using a phonemic approach. Our goal in kindergarten will be to get your student ready to read, not necessarily reading, although most will be reading by the end of the year. However, please remember that reading is a developmental skill and that each child develops that skill at their own pace. We will be sure to challenge each child at their level of reading development. We would really like to encourage you to read to and with your child each and every night. This is essential for your child's progress in reading.
** Each year it becomes more and more clear to us how important reading each day is to every child. To us, as teachers, it is painfully obvious which children do not get read to on a daily basis. We will be using thethe Into Reading Materials for our Reading Program in Deer Valley.
Writing
The children will have many opportunities to write in kindergarten. Writing activities help children to understand that the purpose of written language is to communicate meaning. One of the many writing experiences we will have in kindergarten is journal writing.
Handwriting
Handwriting will be taught in conjunction with letter recognition and sounds. In order to give your child a head start please teach them to write their name in both upper and lower case letters, i.e. Sue Smith During writing your child will be shown how to hold a pencil and how to use scissors correctly, please practice this at home too. If your child does not have a conventional pencil grip your child’s teacher(s) may meet with you to encourage even more practice at home, the quicker we can get all children to hold the pencil correctly the more they will experience success this year.
Math
We using iReady Math to teach Arizona math standards. We use many manipulatives in our classrooms- pattern blocks, unifix cubes, geo boards, scales, dominoes, counters of various shapes and sizes, magnetic letters & numbers, linking cubes, dice etc. We will work on counting, comparing, addition, subtraction, composing & decomposing numbers, sorting, classifying, identifying numbers and reading number words, geometry and number concepts throughout the year.
Science
We will be using the district adopted Science program. This program focuses on animals, weather, seasons and plants . The program is a very hands on approach to teaching science. Due to the hands-on nature of this program, we will occasionally need volunteers to assist with experiments and discovery.
Social Studies
In social studies we will explore and discuss some of the following themes
“Community Helpers”, “Relationships”, “Cultural Awareness”, “Symbols of our Country
Technology
The children will be using technology on a regular basis. We will be using the internet to enhance our instruction by exploring web sites that support our curriculum. We will also send information home to parents via e-mail and would like to encourage parents to communicate with us through email also. The children will be learning to use a variety of software programs and apps. We will be using iPads in the classrooms.
AI:
K-8 Syllabus Statement after careful consideration and in alignment with the developmental needs of our students and the children’s online privacy protection act (coppa), dvusd has determined that the use of large language models (llms), such as chatgpt, are not suitable for students in grades k-8 (under 13 years of age) and will not be utilized or endorsed in academic contexts.
Expectations
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All Things EQ!
We have this amazing character education program for our students at West Wing called All Things EQ.
Click on the link to see more.... All Things EQ.
Love and Logic Approach
The philosophy of Love and Logic is to regain control in stressful situations, equalize emotions and build more harmonious relationships. The keys to implementation are empathy and communicating that you care for and value the other person.
Supply List
Kindergarten Supply List 2024-2025
Community items: (Do not label with name as these will be shared)
6 Giant Elmer’s glue sticks (Solid/NO Gel)
1 Packages of 4 EXPO THIN BLACK dry erase markers
5 Boxes (24 count) of Crayola Crayons (not chunky)
1 Jumbo Bag (2 and half gallon bag) for library book
1 Box tissues
1 12ct Sidewalk Chalk
GIRLS ONLY:
1 - 10 count of thin Crayola markers
1-roll Paper Towels
2 - Pink erasers
BOYS ONLY:
1 – Clorox Wipes
1 - 10 count box of regular Crayola markers
1-package of 4 highlighters
Individual items; Please label with your child’s name
1 Primary handwriting sketchbook (blank on top and lines on bottom)
*(You can find them at dollar store, Walmart, Office Depot and Teaching and Learning Stuff)
1- Plastic pocket folder of your own choice (homework folder)
1- Yellow plastic folder with brads
1- Pair scissors (Fiskar Brand -no plastic ones)
1-White Board Eraser
1- Backpack (please no rolling ones)
Kindergarten Wish List Items (voluntary only):
(Feel free to help out as you can)
Pump Soap Scotch Brand Laminating Sheets Band Aides
Gallon ZipLock Bags Pump Hand Sanitizer